Earth's Silence [IC]

[Skaldia]

Earth's Orbit - 0500
Aboard FNS Cradle, Docks

---

The 17th Federation Fleet had entered Earth's orbit at 0200 and had attained geosynchronous orbit near the Western Hemisphere. It had been deemed by High Command that the Talon Unit would land in Grand Central Park in New York City, who were located on the FNS Cradle, a Hawking Class Carrier. Landing would be accomplished via a Valkyrie Dropship. They would be provided with a Cougar Assault Vehicle which was loaded down with supplies and enough room to carry the Senators back to the Valkyrie. Their mission was multifold:

1. Land and Establish Perimeter.
2. Proceed to Command Tower in Lower Manhattan.
3. Extract Senators and cabinet.
4. Discover source of Black Cloud.
5. If Targets Alpha-Delta cannot be achieved, Talon is to extract immediately.

Over the Comms, a loud mechanical voice could be heard through the Barracks located just near the Docks,"ALL TALON UNITS, PLEASE REPORT TO DOCK 1A FOR DROP! REPEAT: ALL TALON UNITS TO DOCK 1A. IMMEDIATELY!"

Commander Jon Winter was already waiting near the Valkyrie, in full armor and weapons. He had been waiting since the Fleet had Shifted and come into orbit.

[Moarfall]

Earth's Orbit - 0500
Aboard FNS Cradle, TALON Rooms.

Wolf was sitting in his room, gripping his cot. His grip was so tight he was beginning to leave imprints of his armoured hands. He hated flying, and the rocky orbital entry had shaken his normally calm demeanour. Now he would have to get on a dropship soon, even worse than the carrier. But soon his boots would be on the ground again and he would be deployed. That made him feel a little better. He was just about to grab a passing officer when they'd be leaving when he heard the comms. Excited to have his boots in some real dirt, he snatched his rifle and sheathed his blades. He took off down the halls; letting his suit's AI unlock the energy stores and divert it to reflexes and speed. He would be able to cross the carrier in moments.

[Great Nepal]

Earth's Orbit - 0500
Aboard FNS Cradle, Quarters
Ayushmati was in her quarters rather than the barracks, she didn't really socialise with comrades much before the mission, prevents emotional connections being built and anyway she wanted to sleep during the shift because it just makes whole experience a bit nicer if you dont have to be awake through it. She was waken up by the mechanical voice indicating they were at the drop point, finally they were here however she wasn't going to go down to Earth like this, she liked Earth from when she was quite young and visited the estate as well as touring the planet with her family along with her friends from school. She wasn't going to go down there straight from sleep after shifting, so she ignored the voice and went to take a shower and get changed to uniform before grabbing her equipment, putting rifle in her bag and went to the docks after approximately fifteen minutes after the voice.

[Selrahc]

When Tom heard the call to report to Dock 1A, he got up and left his room for the way to the dock.
Along the way, he had thought of all of the events that had lead him here. His life of being bullied but proving himself able to defend himself and those he cared about. His fateful mission that lead him to kill his childhood bully and save a senator, the same one that got him into the Talons.
He had been in many successful missions since then, but he had never faced a threat like this before. He didn't doubt his ability, but not knowing what's wrong with Earth made him uncomfortable.

[New Sapienta]

TMS Cradle

Leon Phillips had been in deep sleep when the alarm went out. He had been dreaming, but when he woke, he couldn't remember what it was about. The alarm notified him to head to Dock 1A to prepare for immediate drop towards Earth, which had gone silent a while ago. Whatever was down there was capable of shutting down an entire planet.

And Leon would be in the thick of it.

Leon got his gear, made sure to equip his heavy armor, put everything he wasn't directly carrying in his backpack and began moving to Dock 1A.

[Yanalia]

Nasiha got up excitedly when the call to drop came. She'd been waiting for this moment since she joined the Talons (which wasn't all that long ago, compared to some of the members of her team). What had happened to their home planet, lost under the dark clouds of...something or other. Whatever it was, they were going to find it. And if it was hostile, it would be eliminated. Some, maybe even most, would be nervous or frightened at such a prospect. Not she. She quickly strapped into her armor, snapping down her helmet and visor. Snatching her weapons off the racks, and strapping her various equipment to her belt, she bounded over to the Valkyrie, where she saw the Commander standing armed.

"We about ready to drop, Commander?'

[Skaldia]

Earth's Orbit - 0500
Aboard FNS Cradle, Docks

---

Commander Jon smiled faintly at all the members of his unit assembled around him."We're always ready to drop Nasiha." He looked at each one of them and after looking at the last, he placed his Helm on. With a hiss of escaping atmospherics, his armor was now an enclosed environment. His voice, when he spoke, was directly into the comm units in each Talon's helmet."Let's go see who we can fuck up shall we?"

With that, the ramp of the Valkyrie lowered and Jon stepped in,"Everyone strap in. It's going to be bumpy."

[Moarfall]

Wolf sat strapped into one of the seats in the Valkyrie looking down at the Cougar in the Cargo Bay. He was envisioning stepping down onto fresh soil again, and actually getting some work done. His vision was shattered as they hit another rough patch of turbulence. He ground his teeth and clamped down on the safety bars, waiting for this crazy train to stop.